modeling

As you guys already know, my love for local Toronto fashion and lifestyle brand Untitled&Co runs pretty deep. I’ve always admired their fun, youthful style that is sexy, unique, and always empowered. I appreciate the way they engage with their community. I respect the social causes they align themselves with. I love that when I go to their physical store at 438 Queen St W in Toronto, it’s run entirely by other ambitious young people like myself.

So when they asked me if I wanted to do a shoot together again my answer was obvious: YAAAAS!

GUESS WHAT GUYS!? I got chosen to help launch global fashion brand Uniqlo‘s expansion into Canada! Catch me standing with a crew of cool kids in front of Toronto landmarks in this city-wide campaign. You wouldn’t even believe the crazy fate that lead me here. I’m just honored and blessed to be able to welcome this awesome brand to Canada. Keep reading to see the story of how I landed this amazing opportunity.

If you’re a young entrepreneur chasing your dreams, you have my attention. When Tyler Handley of Inkbox Tattoos hit me up asking me to model some new designs for the company, it was an instant yes. Cool designs? Check! Fun in the sun? Check! Count me in 🙂

Keep reading to learn more about the product, how it works, and our shoot day.

What do you think would happen if you gave 68 unique and different women one leather jacket to wear according to their own personal style? For the launch of their customized leather jacket collaboration, downtown Toronto fashion boutique Convey and leather design studio Namesake teamed up and did just that. And I was lucky enough to be one of the chosen ladies.

Remember when I said I had something in the works with downtown Toronto boutique Smoke + Ash? Well on the evening of April 7th, at the one year anniversary party, that project was revealed. I was so happy to be the muse for a fashion film celebrating their one year anniversary as one of the coolest fashion destinations in one of Toronto’s trendiest neighborhoods, West Queen West.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you already know that right now I’m in Miami. What I haven’t mentioned yet is that right before I left, I was working on a special project for Toronto West Queen West boutique Smoke + Ash.

It came about in the most organic way. A follower of mine on Instagram (hey, hun!) tagged me in a post S + A put up calling for a model to “Be [Their] Beyoncé”. Without even knowing what that meant, a day or two later I sent them an email and a few days later I was meeting with the store owner, Jaya, and the rest of the production team. Soon after Jaya told me they had chosen me to be the lead in this secret project celebrating their one year anniversary.

As you guys already know, I like to do a little modeling every now and then. Sometimes it’s fun to work with someone else’s vision and try to bring that to life. A few months ago local fashion designer Godfrey Mensah reached out to me through Instagram and asked if I would be interested in modeling the Spring/Summer 2016 collection for his line Keniya X Label called “Raw Hype”. I had seen his unisex garments gather attention at Toronto Men’s Fashion Week and was intrigued by the aesthetic so I said yes.

If you follow me on Instagram then by now you know that I was given an amazing opportunity to walk the runway this season at Toronto Fashion Week. This is one of the coolest things I’ve been able to do and I really wanted to share that with you guys in a meaningful way so buckle up and enjoy my detailed firsthand account of my trip into Hayley Elsaesser’s “Carnival of Curiosity”.

It all started on Instagram, as many creative endeavors in my life do. Fashion designer Hayley Elsaesser and I both follow each other on IG and about three weeks ago I saw a post of hers announcing a casting she was holding. About a week prior the Spring/Summer 2016 Toronto Fashion Week calendar had been revealed and she was again announced to be presenting a collection on the runway, this time set for Tuesday, October 20th. The little gears in my head started turning as I read the phrase “No height requirement”. ‘I should give this a try,’ I thought.

On Tuesday, October 6th I arrived at her newly opened retail space in Toronto’s Bayview Village Shopping Mall. Hayley greeted me warmly and handed me a look to try on. I quickly put on a blue sleeveless top with a pink crystal ball print and slim cut metallic fuchsia leather pants. She asked me to walk for her across the length of the retail space. I thought back to the one time, several years ago, I had received a runway lesson from a former model. I was nervous but decided to give it my best shot as she recorded my attempt. “Let’s try one more look,” she said, handing me another wardrobe option. This time I slipped into a leather-textured dress with a metallic rainbow finish. Its fitted bodice and flared skirt ending above the knees made me feel like a walking burst of color. Again I made my best attempt at a runway walk. When it was all done I thanked her for her time and she seemed like she was interested in having me in her show.

“Do you remember where we first met?” Cameron Wilson asked me in the midst of our photoshoot. I thought about it for a moment. I knew we had gotten acquainted through Instagram but where had we met in person? I remembered him spotting me a few weeks prior on the patio of this little restaurant on West Queen West. “Java House?” I replied, unsure of my answer. “No, three years ago at the Coco and Breezy pop up shop at Jacflash,” he said. “Wow! Really?” I exclaimed, surprised he remembered me from our chance encounter in 2012 when NYC eyewear designers and twin sisters Coco and Breezy held their event at a now defunct fashion boutique. I couldn’t believe I had crossed paths that long ago with one of the co-founders of Toronto streetwear brand and internet darling, Untitled & Co.

About

Mirian Njoh

+ Street but Sweet +

Love Mirian is all about street fashion and girlpower. It's about loving one's self, encouraging others to do the same, and looking good while doing it. It's about celebrating womanhood, women, and their contributions to fashion, culture, and more. All while also providing an inside look at my life as a West African girl with albinism living in Toronto, Canada and making my mark on the fashion industry.